Install

Easiest: open Unmask on the Chrome Web Store and click Add to Chrome. While the extension is new, Chrome may show "not trusted by Enhanced Safe Browsing"; click Continue to install.

Firefox: open Unmask on Firefox Add-ons and click Add to Firefox.

If you'd rather not use a store, install it as a "developer" extension. You only do this once. Pick Option 1 unless you want to build Unmask yourself.

1a. Option 1: No-code install (recommended)

No programming tools needed.

1. Open the latest Unmask release.
2. Scroll to Assets and click the file named unmask-chrome-<version>.zip, for example unmask-chrome-0.2.1.zip. Don't download "Source code (zip)": that's the code for developers, not the extension.
3. Unzip it:
   • Mac: double-click the zip in Downloads. (Safari may already have unzipped it for you.)
   • Windows: right-click the zip → Extract All… → Extract. You now have a folder named unmask-chrome-<version>.
4. Move that folder somewhere permanent, for example Documents → Unmask. Chrome loads Unmask from this folder every time it starts, so don't delete or rename it.
5. Check you have the right folder: open it. You should see manifest.json, sidepanel.html and folders named icon, chunks and content-scripts. If you see another folder with the same name instead, go one level deeper: that inner folder is the one to load.

Now load it into Chrome.

1b. Option 2: Build from source

You need Node.js (version 20 or newer) and pnpm. In a terminal:

git clone https://github.com/praneeth132006/Unmask.git
cd Unmask
pnpm install
pnpm build

This creates the folder build/unmask-chrome. That folder is the extension.

1c. Load it into Chrome

1. In Chrome's address bar, type chrome://extensions and press Enter. (This is Chrome's own settings page, not the Chrome Web Store.)
2. Turn on Developer mode with the switch in the top-right corner.
3. Three buttons appear on the left. Click Load unpacked.
4. Select the extension folder and click Select:
   • Option 1: the unzipped unmask-chrome-<version> folder (the one that contains manifest.json).
   • Option 2: open the project folder, open build, and click unmask-chrome once.
5. Unmask appears in your list of extensions.
6. Click the puzzle-piece icon in Chrome's toolbar and click the pin next to Unmask so its icon is always visible.

Edge and Brave work the same way: use edge://extensions or brave://extensions.

1d. Reload Gmail

If Gmail was already open, reload the Gmail tab (press ⌘R or Ctrl+R). Unmask can only connect to Gmail pages opened after it was installed.

If loading fails

Chrome says	What it means	Fix
Manifest file is missing or unreadable	You selected the wrong folder (often the parent folder, or Downloads)	Select the folder that directly contains manifest.json
You can't select the .zip file	Chrome loads folders, not zip files	Unzip it first (step 3)
Load unpacked button is missing	Developer mode is off	Turn on the Developer mode switch, top right
Unmask disappeared after a restart	The folder was moved or deleted	Put the folder back, or load it again from its new place
This extension is not from any known source or Disable developer mode extensions pop-up	Chrome's normal warning for extensions not installed from the Web Store	Click Cancel / keep it enabled. It's expected for developer installs

Updating

• Option 1: download the newer unmask-chrome-<version>.zip from the latest release and unzip it. Copy the new files into your existing Unmask folder, replacing the old ones, then click the ↻ reload button on the Unmask card in chrome://extensions. Why the same folder? Chrome identifies a developer-installed extension by its folder. Loading a new folder installs a second copy that starts with empty settings, so you'd have to set up your API keys again.
• Option 2: after pulling new code and running pnpm build again, click the ↻ reload button on the Unmask card.

Then reload Gmail.

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This page is generated from docs/USER_GUIDE.md. Edit it there, not in the wiki.